Mateusz Zguda

A co-founder and managing partner of KISS digital.

Przemysław Ćwik

Senior Editor.

19 May 2020

What is a UX Designer?

Some say that UX designer is a fictional figure. While others believe in its existence. However, few have doubts about the fact that without UX designer it is impossible to create a product that will have a chance for market success.

Does UX designer exist at all? Some people ask themselves this question quite seriously. Well, it makes a lot of sense. In theory, anyone who knows their craft well can take on the role of UX designer.

Take, for instance, a carpenter. It is a professional who knows very well that a chair should have four (most often) legs, backrest and seat. Additionally, if such a person realizes that a chair should be well-shaped, ergonomic, not too hard, not too soft, just comfortable, then he or she has the right approach to UX. As UX ultimately stands for user experience.

However, before the user finally recognizes the UX contained in the product, the UX designer must put in a lot of effort. With some digital products, there is so much to do that a single person simply cannot handle it. In order to cope with all the work he or she would have to be an interdisciplinary wizard with a vast amount of time.

Therefore, in practice, whole teams contribute to UX design. In other words: UX designer is a collective entity. The individual title of UX designer describes a person who coordinates the activities of this collective and is responsible for the visual side, whereas the command center is not always one person.

Is UX designer a one-man band? (And why it is not)

However, some people are stubbornly looking for individuals with comprehensive skills. Those who would play the role of the UX design team themselves. This is reflected in job advertisements. The job descriptions and requirements contained in the offers illustrate the diversity of competences related to UX design.

Here are some of them:

sense of aesthetics, ability to think creatively,

very strong analytical skills,

creation of low and high fidelity mock-ups and prototypes,

participating in and conducting usability studies,

ability to design graphic layouts,

knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator and Axure,

knowledge of HTML, CSS, Sass.

Some job advertisers are so fanciful that they mention knowledge of JavaScript among the additional skills appreciated. In addition, the person who acts as a multi-tasking UX designer should also be highly infallible. After all, in a one-man team, no one will correct your mistakes.

Although there are many talents on the labor market, companies that rely solely on the competence of their own user experience specialists in the implementation of projects, expecting them to play the role of a one-man band, often end up cooperating with an external agency. One that has a team of professionals specialized in the various fields that make up UX design. This is the only way to design a product that provides the user with high-quality experience and the company with a return on investment.

UX design: the art of compromise

The analogy with woodwork may evoke other associations, but in the digital UX industry, design is a complex process requiring the coordinated work of many experts. It starts when the business needs for the product under development are identified.

It is finished when you get the balance between:

the business needs of the client,

the needs and convenience of the users,

technological capabilities and constraints, including project costs.

The goal of the UX design team is to achieve a compromise between these factors. Achieving this "optimum" increases the probability that the product will not only work out, but also succeed in the long run. Since without a good UX, you can interest the user in the offer and even encourage them to make a purchase, but it is very difficult to get them attached to the product.

It is worth to be aware of this because a product that is promising from a business point of view, yet poorly designed, will quickly return to the market in a better version, branded by someone else.

What does UX design consist of?

What exactly does UX design include? User experience is a constantly evolving field that is still being defined.

Usually, however, designing usability solutions includes the following activities:

UX design requires a holistic approach

An obvious conclusion emerges from the above list: UX design is a job for a well-orchestrated team. In this team, UX designer is a kind of conductor who makes sure that no instrument is out of tune. However, such a person does not hit the keys or strike the strings with his or her own hands – to complete the metaphor. In fact, some of the skills attributed to UX designer in many job advertisements are in practice within the competence of other specialists.

It goes like this:

UI designer is a graphic designer who deals with interface design,

UX researcher is responsible for organizing the UX tests, which requires knowledge of the relevant methodologies,

and UX analyst investigates how the user interacts with the website or application interface.

However, UX designer must have a general understanding of these areas in order to be able to effectively supervise the work of individual professionals. It also should have that "special something". Hm, let’s call it: the ability to holistically approach the processes associated with UX design and ensure the quality of the project from end to end.

7 features of good UX

How do you recognize good UX quality? The final product coming out of the UX designers' studio should meet several key conditions.

It must be:

valuable,

useful,

easy to interact with,

easy to navigate,

trustworthy,

accessible,

desired.

If you are looking for a partner who will carry out your project with care for the best possible user experience – let's talk!